When I was a kid, we used to go on endless driving trips. Somewhere out on the road, I would see a sign that would catch my attention. For the next few hundred miles, that would be the thing that would keep me going. The anticipation would build. I would drive my parents nuts. If memory serves, this is how we ended up stopping at Wall Drug in South Dakota. The Prehistoric Gardens is the same type of business that would drive my little eight-year-old brain crazy.
The Prehistoric Gardens is the vision of E.V. Nelson. He hand crafted the dinosaurs over a period of forty years and made them a fixture in a piece of an Oregon rain forest.
Unfortunately, Mr. Nelson’s creations are made out of cement. Placing them in the middle of a rain forest means that the current staff has to fight an on going battle against decay as they keep them in good shape and as brightly colored as they were in the fifties.
This is a great piece of roadside history that they’re just not making anymore. Make sure to stop and visit the Prehistoric Gardens.
